By Vincent SchillingIn response to the “Siouxper Drunk” T-shirts worn by University of North Dakota students last Saturday as part of a Springfest celebration UND Native students have organized a #WalkforChange at the university to be held Friday at 11 a.m. to voice opposition to a hostile UND environment faced by Native students.

In addition to the #WalkForChange, Native UND students that are facilitating the event released several public statements demanding change from UND administrators as well as an outline for fostering cultural awareness at the university.

“The Fighting Sioux logo is supposed to be retired, but it is everywhere,” said Margaret Emmy Scott, a Political Science and American Indian Studies major at UND. “Whether you go to the registrar to pay your bills or to change your classes, people representing the administration are wearing the logo. Professors wear it, faculty, staff and more. We need this to be banned in the school atmosphere. That is the root of the trouble.”

In the release sent to ICTMN by Scott, the sentiment of the students is clear—they are fighting against what they consider to be a hostile environment for too long.

“The distress and hostile learning environment American Indian (AI) students endure is a form of psychological violence, predicated and perpetuated on notions of AI students being overly sensitive. This mentality presents a slippery slope as stereotypes lead to the dehumanization of a people and ultimately, permit acts of violence against those populations who are portrayed as the lesser.

“The continuous and overt forms of disrespect have negatively-impacted UND and its American Indian students. The ‘Sioux-per drunk’ T-shirts were specifically designed to target American Indian students and in itself is an act of discrimination. The UND students that wore these t-shirts have and continue to use social media, Facebook and Twitter to reinforce the notion of premeditated actions and adamant denial of wrongdoing.”

By Anna BurlesonUniversity of North Dakota administrators were among about 100 people marching through campus Friday to protest a recent racially insensitive event, but that didn’t prevent them from being called out.

Emmy Scott, former president of the Indian Studies Association, a student group, said administrators were using the march as a publicity stunt and released a list of demands she and other students want the university to meet by December.

“I’m glad that they’re here, but in a lot of ways, it feels like it’s a PR stunt and I want them to know that we are not a photo-op,” she said.

The demands include selecting a new nickname and prohibiting students from wearing clothing or other gear bearing the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.Alas...proving the need for the walk is this posting:UND student tweets that today's #WalkForChange event was over-reaction: "Boohoohoo one little t-shirt and they re-enact the damn trail of tears like we killed their family on springfest"
Comment: One little t-shirt that encapsulates centuries of oppression and injustice, you mean. And what amount of racism would be enough to get you to criticize it rather than defend it?

If there's a threshold for the "get over it" crowd, I haven't seen it. Which leads us to conclude that these naysayers are racists themselves or "friends of racism," which amounts to the same thing.